Application of chain-based sponge dressing for gunshot wounds in the groin

Weijin Yang, Junchuan Song, Yuewen Zhu, Zhi Ye, Mingwei Wang, Yongchao Fang, Weihang Wu, Dongsheng Chen, Yu Wang

Am J Emerg Med. 2021 Jan;39:24-27

Background: With the application of limb tourniquet, junctional hemorrhage has outstripped extremity hemorrhage as the leading cause of death during recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. We used a gunshot wound femoral artery bleeding model to verify the effect of chain-based sponge dressing (CSD).

Methods: We used a rifle to shoot the femoral artery of female Bama miniature pigs to achieve a gunshot wound model. Pigs were immediately subjected to CSD (n = 4) or standard gauze (SG; n = 4) to achieve hemostasis. We compared outcomes between the CSD and SG groups.

Results: There was no significant difference in baseline data between the two groups. The average hemorrhage time was 38.75 ± 9.29 s after CSD and 630.75 ± 169.46 s after SG (p < 0.05). The success rate in the CSD group was 100% (4/4), while the success rate in the SG group was 25% (1/4). The survival time of the CSD group (120 min) was significantly longer compared with the SG group (62.25 min; p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the average time for removal of the hemostatic material between the two groups. One week after the experiment, animals had a normal diet and were walking. No secondary damage was caused by CSD.

Conclusion: We used a gun-shot wound model to verify the effectiveness of CSD in the groin area. CSD achieved hemostasis quickly in all animals, and mean arterial pressure remained at normal levels. These findings suggest that CSD may be appropriate for humans with junctional hemorrhage due to bullet wounds, although further research is needed.